Thanks
by violets92
Summary: He’d rescue her all over again. He’d do it a hundred times if she’d just thank him once more. Post Breaking Point. Extra scene with Colby and Bonnie. No romance.


Colby was so brilliant in Breaking Point, that I thought I just had to explain all that emotion. THis is purely speculation, and probably completely wrong, but it was just the idea that came into my head. I know it's not my usual Colby/Megan, but I do love Colby, so here it is.

Slight spoilers for 3x11, Breaking Point.

Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs, I do not own Colby, and I do not own Bonnie.

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He'd never get used to the thousands of headstones that adorned the lawns. Not ever. He visited far more people than he would have liked, which meant he knew the exact placement of everyone he knew that lay here. He could spot their headstones from ages away, even though every gravestone looked the same. He let his feet guide him to one at the far left of the cemetery…one that he didn't get to visit nearly enough. When his head lifted, he saw he wasn't alone, and the irony wasn't lost on him. They were the only two people there, with the purpose to see only one – the same - grave.

The fact that they were meeting at a graveyard wasn't lost on him either.

He saw her eyes avoid him. The quick glance she'd given him turned back to her brother's headstone the minute she caught him staring. He didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say. Should he turn back and walk away? Stay and talk?

"I know you." She spoke quietly, almost guiltily.

"I hope you would. It wouldn't be great for my ego if you forgot me in less than a day." It felt wrong to joke here, in a place of such immense magnitude. He was about to take it back when the corner of her mouth twitched. It was as much of a smile as anyone was going to let out here.

"No…I mean from before." She swallowed and he lifted his heat in grim remembrance. "Back when…you know."

"Yeah. I know."

"I didn't know if it was you back at that house. I should have recognised you…PFC Granger." She looked him square in the eye. "It's not every day your brother's friend comes by your house with the rest of his personal effects."

For once, he couldn't read her. It was true, he wasn't a profiler, but he'd been trained to read facial expressions, body language…but her, he couldn't read her face if his life depended on it now.

"I'm so sorry." Her eyes welled up, and the woman once described as so strong and independent let out a tear. He didn't know if it was because of his words or the memory, but it cased his heart to jump just a little.

"For what?" Her head turned back to the grave. "It wasn't you that killed him. It wasn't your fault he was over there."

"Bonnie…you've got to know…he believed in what he was doing." She wasn't looking at him as another tear rolled down her cheek. "He _wanted_ to fight. He wanted peace, and he died the way he would've wanted to. In battle."

"How would you know?" Her guards were back up and Colby resisted the urge to kick up the grass. "You weren't there. He didn't want to die at all!" She sniffed. "His letters…he didn't want to die, Granger."

"I know." He did. "None of us want to…and you're right, I wasn't there, but when the news reached me…I felt like I was. I felt like I was back out there with him, fighting for what we believed in, and it was yet another death I had to deal with." He looked down. "Another friend that I was never going to celebrate going back home with."

"You and my brother…were you close?" He couldn't blame her for wanting to know, he just didn't want her more upset.

"Look, are you sure-"

"Yes I'm sure! For years I've been shut out. I have no idea _what_ he did over there. All we got was a 'He died heroically. For his country. You should be proud of him'. I want the _truth_ Granger." She sighed. "I need more than just his letters. You knew him…" She trailed off and he got the hint.

"I don't know what happened in Iraq, but I knew him a bit before his unit got transferred." He took a deep breath, wondering where to start. "We bunked together. I didn't know him as well as a few other guys but I knew him better than most. He was a good guy. There were a few times where it was just us and the rest of the guys were out. He became a good friend of mine."

"He always used to talk about you, you know." Colby smiled. "About his big sister, the one on the news. He really loved you." She smiled and let out a small laugh. "He showed us a couple of pictures. One of you and him and one with only you in it. I remember once, one of our buddies said you were smokin' hot…well, your brother, he punched the guys lights out." Colby laughed. "No-one ever talked about you like that again."

"He got that from me." She couldn't have looked any prouder if she tried. Colby smirked.

"Figures." They both let out a small chuckle. "I miss him sometimes, you know? He was always so bright. Over there, it's so easy to lose sight of things…become cynical, depressed even. The things you see…" At the look on Bonnie's face, Colby cleared his throat and continued. "He was always so damn cheerful…not much got him down."

"Yeah, he was like that at home too. Always playing pranks." She shook her head fondly. "He once drew a scarily accurate picture of…well, male…parts…" Colby raised his eyebrows. "On my boyfriend's head while he was sleeping."

"Wow." He bit back a snigger. "Yeah, he once shaved of a buddy's eyebrows one night." Bonnie thought for a moment before replying.

"Definitely not his most creative stunt."

"Nope. Then again, he started a trend. I had mine shaved off once. A buddy of mine tried to do it again, but I woke up and throttled him before he could get anywhere near my eyebrows." She laughed, then as if sobering and remembering where they were, she turned back to the headstone.

"He was so young." She whispered and his chest constricted for a second.

"Yeah. I know."

"It was his twenty-first birthday two weeks after he died. We were hoping he'd come home to celebrate. Instead, he came back in a coffin."

"God, I'm…I'm sorry." He took a deep breath to stem the emotion.

"So you keep saying." They fell silent.

She finally set down the flowers, and he turned to leave…to give her a minute of peace and remembrance with her brother. Instead, she called him back.

"Colby?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, yesterday…he would have wanted to thank you. He might have been six years younger, but by the time he was eighteen, he was so damn protective." She swiped her cheek in frustration. "He talked about you in one of his letters. He'd seen you do something…I don't know what it was, but he said you were one of the best and bravest men he knew."

"He was a great man too Bonnie. Never forget that." He turned to walk away again when she made him stop for the second time.

"I wanted to thank you too." She smiled. "And if my brother says you were one of the best men he knew, I believe him. You proved it yesterday. And two years ago."

"Bonnie-"

"What you did…coming to our door and giving us those things, talking to my parents, telling them the things you did; I've never thanked you for that."

"You_should_ be proud of him. Not just for what he did for this country, but he for being a good man. I don't know many soldiers like him. Not many had the guts he did. He saved a lot of people."

"Yeah. Thanks Colby."

"Take care, Bonnie. I don't want to have to rescue you again. Not if I can help it." Colby smiled.

"Yeah…I'm not all that keen on being a damsel." She smiled and waved at him as he walked away, giving her one last salute.

He'd rescue her all over again. He'd do it a hundred times if she'd just thank him once more.

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A/N: How was it? Feedback really, really appreciated. 


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